State's Decision On Miami Dog Track Draws Challenge
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - Operators of the Mardi Gras Casino and Racetrack have asked state regulators to back away from a decision that would allow a rival Miami greyhound track to end dog racing while continuing to offer slot machines.
Hartman and Tyner, Inc., and H&T Gaming, Inc., which run the Broward pari-mutuel, have filed a motion requesting that the Department of Business and Professional Regulation vacate or reconsider the decision last month related to Magic City Casino in Miami.
The decision by the department's Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering would allow Magic City, operated by West Flagler Associates, to replace dog races with jai alai matches and continue offering lucrative slots. The approval dealt with a long-controversial issue known as a "summer jai alai" permit.
In their motion, attorneys for the Broward pari-mutuel's operators said, in part, that their effort to intervene in the issue was improperly dismissed by the department. Also, they pointed to a 2004 constitutional amendment that allowed slot machines in Miami-Dade and Broward counties and contend that Magic City is only allowed to offer slots in conjunction with a greyhound-racing permit --- not a summer jai alai permit.
"As an existing greyhound permitholder and slot machine gaming operator, intervenors (Hartman and Tyner and H&T Gaming) have a right to be heard as to how the constitutional and statutory provisions are being interpreted as it relates to allowing new permits to be used for expanding slot machine operations," the motion said. "Intervenors assert that slot machine gaming at West Flagler's facility pursuant to its summer jai alai permit should not be authorized and would be illegal."
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.